Thirty probables named in squad for the World Cup

[Gotchya]

Taufeeq Umer
Salim Elahi
.Imran Nazir
Imran Farhat
.Saeed Anwar
Shadab Kabir
.Younis Khan
.Yousuf Youhana
.Inzamam-ul-Haq
.Misbah-ul-Haq
Naved Latif
Faisal Iqbal
Shoaib Malik
.Kamran Akmal
Moin Khan
.Rashid Latif
Azhar Mahmood
.Abdul Razzaq
Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan
Yasir Arafat
.Shahid Afridi
.Wasim Akram
.Shoaib Akhtar
.Waqar Younis
Mohammad Sami
Abdul Rauf
.Mohammad Zahid
Fazl-e-Akbar
.Saqlain Mushtaq
Danish Kaneria


15 are to be short listed form this long list for the tournament. I would do it for the selectors like this :



1 Saeed Anwar (Taufeeq is not a One day player, atleast he hasn't proved so as yet, Anwar gets the nod purely because of his experience, which is crucial in big tournaments)
2 Shahid Afridi
3 Imran Nazir ? (Poor form lately, but his ability to cut and drive well could mean lots of runs)
4 Yousaf Youhana
5 Inzimam-ul-Haq
6 Younis Khan
7 Muhammad Zahid (Very subjective to his performances replacement will be Muhammad Sami)
8 Misbah-ul-Haq (Because the middle order needs consolidating, Pakistan are desperately short of consistent batsmen)
9 Wasim Akram
10 Waqar Younis
11 Saqlain Mushtaq
12 Shoaib Akhtar
13 Abdul Razzaq
14 Rashid Latif
15 Kamran Akmal (Backup specialist keeper and batsman)

Looks a strong side but still matches are never won on paper ! Only if they can function well together and gel up in the forth coming series.

Comments are most welcome :ninja:

[Edited on 29/11/2002 by Gotchya]

 

[Rik]

I'm sure one of those batsman has to drop out as they will surely take Elahi, even though he scored all his runs off an attack comprising of several school kids and farmers...

 

[Gotchya]

I hope the selectors are putting that decision on the basis of the next tour in SA. If Elahi performs then he will be an automatic pick. I notice already Anwar has not made it into the Test or One day side for the African tour. So Anwar's ouster is on the cards, only if Elahi performs badly then can he make it back. Perhaps Nazir can make way for him ?

 

[yorker]

I'm not sure about Nazir, he has been in poor form since a long time and is still struggling. Anwar can only stage a come back if Elahi fails in SA , but Anwar needs to get some runs in domestic cricket.

I don't think there is any need for 2 WKs, either Rashid or Akmal should be selected.
Azhar Mahmood should be in the team, especially since some of the bowlers in Sami,Zahid and Akhter are injury prone.

 

[Gotchya]

Azhar's managed to inure himself as well I think, so he wont be able to show his form. Well, if Rashid goes down with Injury you would need a specialist reserve I think. And yes, probably Nazir will be replaced with Elahi. Anwar is in deep waters atm.

 

[yorker]

Azhar is out for four weeks and as such won't be able to play in the comming series, but he has a good record in SA and is a more than useful allrounder.

Rashid should only be selected if he's 100 percent fit, if so then he should be the man for the cup.I don't think Pak is going to select 2 keepers for WC.

 

[Gotchya]

So who would Azhar replace in the 15 ? Probably Akmal or Misbah ?

 

[yorker]

Misbah should be in the team in any case.There should be 4 mid order batmen and Misbah should be the 4th one.

I still think Azhar should be in the team even though he won't get a chance to show his form b/f the WC.But if Akmal does come up with a brilliant performance in SA, then perhaps Pak might be tempted to go in with two keepers in Akmal and Lateef.

 

[Gotchya]

That will not be a bad decision seeing Akmal's performance today. He's a very confident player and has taken to International Cricket like fish to water.

 

[basil]

The final 15 will be like this,

Anwar
Afridi
Umer/Faisal
Misbah
Inzi
Youhanna
Younis
Akmal/Lateef
Waseem(C)
Razzak
Saqlain
Akhter
Sami
Waqar
Azhar Mahmood.

If Akram is brought back as captain, then Anwar has a high chance of getting back into the team as Akram is strongly in favour of getting him back.It will be interesting to see if Akram is willing to have Lateef in the team as WK, Moin certainly can't be brought back!

 

[marc71178]

But, seriously, Wasim is not going to be made captain is he?

 

[basil]

As things stand today, Akram might as well be back as Captain, especially if Pak lose badly to SA in onedayers and Waqar struggles with the ball.

 

[Rik]

Originally posted by basil

As things stand today, Akram might as well be back as Captain, especially if Pak lose badly to SA in onedayers and Waqar struggles with the ball.

The Pakistan Selectors assured Waqar he'd be captain for the World Cup...but this is Pakistan we're talking about...

 

[basil]

Originally posted by Rik

Originally posted by basil

As things stand today, Akram might as well be back as Captain, especially if Pak lose badly to SA in onedayers and Waqar struggles with the ball.

The Pakistan Selectors assured Waqar he'd be captain for the World Cup...but this is Pakistan we're talking about...

NO that never happened, Tauqir Zia, the PCB chairman had repeatidly said that Waqar may lead the team in WC if he maintains his form.Also, Waqar was being relieved of Captaincy from onedayer team b/f the Zimb and SA series, it was only when Waqar asked the selectors to give him one last chance that the selectors changed their decision.

 

[Rik]

Ok well that still doesn't surprise me there...This is Pakistan remember...the Captain's job is to be critisised endlessly and sacked within a year...I'm sure they even wrote that into the contract

 

[basil]

LOL! To a certain extent its true.However i don't think that PCB has any problem with Waqar's captaincy, otherwise his captaincy in test matches would also had been in question.What bothers PCB is that Waqar himself isn't an automatic selection into the onedayer team, Waqar though has 4 more onedayer against SA to prove otherwise!

 

[Rik]

Well he's certainly one of the more stable and calm Pakistani Captains...and he was quite impressive in England last year, so I wouldn't mind seeing him keep his job. The whole problem he has with Wasim and Wasim has with Waqar when they are captain is a bit dodgy though, and look who hasn't been playing much in Tests since Waqar became captain (I do take note though that Wasim dropped out of the Squad against South Africa which is ashame as he bowled so well in the 1st ODI)

This is my 1111th post...what kind of Nelson is that? Sheesh...and what would Shep do

[Edited on 11/12/2002 by Rik]

 

[marc71178]

Thank God all our players are behind Hasser, even if the press aren't!